Nardelli's "Globality!" Era Drawing to a Close at Chrysler?

What a difference seven months make. When I last caught sight of former lumber salesman/current dark overseer of Chrysler (which is owned by the secretive Cerberus Capital Management), he was proclaiming himself a car guy and heralding a new era of "globality" (Globality!) for the last place number three U.S. automaker. Looks as if that New York auto show speech really was the beginning of some kind of end, as the Freep is now reporting that Nardelli is admitting that Chrysler is discussing its hail marys strategic options with potential partners (like GM and possibly Nissan/Renault). That would of course be code for "we gots to sell this sucker before it bleeds us dry." Or, as Nardelli himself put it: “Chrysler does not comment on speculation or discuss its private business meetings."

It's hard to know what to make of Chrysler's fate. Obviously, with GM and Ford both tanking--GM's valuations have retreated to Eisenhower Administration levels--so it's difficult to figure out what any suitor would get by saddling itself with Chrysler's steadfastly unpopular vehicles. An outstanding minivan? GM might think that this represents a good opportunity to eliminate some of the competition, absorbing whatever decent designs and R&D Chrysler has in its pipeline (evidently, Chrysler's skunk works has whipped up some surprise entrants in the electric car sweepstakes). If Nissan and Carlos Ghosn are in the game, then that just seems like a way to make trouble for GM, as it's impossible to see what Nissan would do in partnership with Chrysler, other than gain access to Jeep.

One thing's for sure: Nardelli's Globality! Era sounds even more ridiculous now than it did back in March.